© Stephen Reuss for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix ltd.
Here is the transcript of the post 2024 Spanish Grand Prix track interviews and press conference featuring Lewis Hamilton!
TRACK INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by David Coulthard)
Q: And finally, ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the podium, Lewis Hamilton. Lewis, the crowd appreciates seeing you here. Amazingly, Mexico was the last time last year that you had a podium. But this weekend, you were on it, and your passing at Turn 1 was pretty special today.
Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah, it’s been a good day, been a good weekend, a solid weekend. I have to say a big thank you to the team, because they’ve been training so hard in the pit stops. The strategy in the pit stops was really on point. Unfortunately, a bit like Lando, I got a really bad start and obviously lost ground to the Ferraris. So it was a bit of a battle to get back to where I am now. I think ultimately, with a better start, we would have… I don’t know if we could have really held on to the guys ahead, but I don’t think we would have been as far behind as we are today.
Q: Strategy, of course, was a big part of today. We saw two different strategies from your team. George went on the Hard. That didn’t appear to be the tyre today. Were you driving that strategy decision to go with the Soft tyre at the last stop, or was it just open play?
LH: That was the plan from the beginning. It was never an option to run the Hard tire for me today. So I drove the race to a Soft, Medium, Soft.
Q: OK. And then just take us to that first corner. I mentioned about the overtakes. It got pretty up close and personal with Carlos Sainz.
LH: Yeah, I think all the overtakes were super close. That’s how it should be, right? Nice and close. I think we bumped wheels, but it was fair. I left him space. And it was right on the limit, but, you know, piece of paper between us.
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PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Many congratulations. Great to see you back on the podium for the first time this year. How much of a boost is this result for you and for the team?
LH: Yes, big boost to finally get a good result. It’s been a minute since I’ve been up here in the race. So a huge, huge thank you to the to the team who have done an amazing job to… Just with all the processes through the race weekend but particularly everyone back at the at the factory for working so hard the extra-long hours to bring components to the car. and we’re slowly getting closer. I mean last year we were very fast here but so you have to take it with a pinch of salt, but obviously the last couple of races we’ve also been relatively competitive. So I think we have closed the gap a little bit but we still have a good couple of tenths to try and find. So we just got to have all hands on deck and keep pushing.
Q: Are you still fine tuning this new package or do you need more upgrades to close the gap to these two guys?
LH: No, I think that’s the maximum it’s got at the moment. But I mean, we’re always fine-tuning it with subtle changes that we make. So we are always fine-tuning it when we continue to tune it through the year. But we need to bolt some stuff on, some extra bits to be able to compete with these guys.
Q: Now, you had to overtake Carlos Sainz twice today. He was unhappy about the first of those moves, saying that you should have given the place back. Can we just get your take on what happened at Turn 1 there?
LH: I mean, look, it’s never a a good feeling when you do get overtaken. And I think we had a nice tight battle into turn one. I left him some room, so I think he was still on the track. Ultimately, he left the door open on the inside, didn’t fully close it. And so I went for the inside and tried to make the corner. I think he came around. I think we touched wheels equally and nothing major. It was like a small scrub. Gave him some room on the exit and yeah.
Q: Let’s throw it forward now. Do you feel Mercedes are building some momentum now?
LH: We definitely are. We definitely are. We’re definitely getting more consistent. And if I can just get my qualifying to be like this weekend, then it makes the Sunday so much easier. Also, if you get a good start. But my Saturdays have been so bad for the last, like, 15 races. So it’s good to have a clean weekend. And hopefully, this puts us in a good position to challenge in the next few races.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Kevin Scheuren – Motorsport-Total.com) A question is to Lewis and Lando. Of course, I don’t want to discredit you becoming driver of the day today, but Max is bringing in victory after victory, and there were slight boos at the podium as well. So would you say that there is a lack of appreciation for the accomplishments that Max has in the general public from time to time?
LH: What was the question? Well, I mean, honestly, I’m not really a lot on social media or reading the news. So in terms of being like, I don’t really, I’m not tapped into that to know exactly. But on the race weekends, he always has a huge crowd always. So he’s always got amazing support. And at the end of the day, he does a fantastic job. Every weekend, he delivers. And he’s got a great team and obviously a great car. But you can’t fault him.
Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Lewis, you’ve obviously said that Mercedes are building a bit of momentum. Do you think that that victory is on the horizon? And how important is it to you to sign off your Mercedes career with a win before the year’s out?
LH: I mean, it’s not the… It would be nice. But I think considering where we’ve come from, I think… Yeah, I think just having consistency and seeing if we can put the team further up in the points, I think it’s got to be the target. But I think right now, let’s just try and have more consistent weekends like this and then we’ll see. But we aren’t yet currently in a position to be able to fight them for wins. You would say that maybe Montréal… I mean, George probably should have won that one, but if I’d qualified where I feel I should have, there was potential also there too. So we’ll see in the next few races. I think we’ve got these high-speed circuits. You know, the McLaren’s always been quick and the Red Bull has been quick in A1 Ring. Silverstone, they’ll also be very fast there but I’m hoping that we are able to eke a little bit closer to them and give them a bit more um trouble in the next four or five races. And then we’ve just got to keep bringing upgrades. We’ve got to keep improving the car. There’s a clear improvement and there’s just clear areas where we need to bolt on performance so that we can be in the fight with them.
Q: (Don Kennedy – Hawkes Bay Today/New Zealand Herald) Lewis, great drive today. Obviously, you’ll be pleased Mercedes is moving closer to the front. But how does that sit with you in terms of your decision to move to Ferrari next year? And does that give you some second thoughts, given that Ferrari now seems to be falling behind the car you’re currently driving?
LH: No, not at all. I mean, firstly, I love Mercedes. I’ve been with Mercedes since I was 13 and I’ll always be a fan and supporter of Mercedes. And my job this year, right now, is to work as hard as I can with the crew that I have, with the people back at the factory to try and move and develop the car in the right direction. And so ultimately, whatever course and trajectory the team is on for next year, for example, there are things that I’ve hopefully been a part of and be proud of being a part of. My job will start next year at the other team who I think are doing a great job. I think they’ve had a couple of difficult races, but let’s not forget they had a race win in Monaco. I can’t tell you. what is wrong with their car and why they are in the position they’re in today. But they did bring an upgrade here, and I think they are definitely progressing. So yeah, but it doesn’t make me second guess my decision at all.
Q: (Pilar Celebrovsky – The Paddock Magazine) A question for Lewis. You have mentioned that you are struggling a little bit on qualifying. What do you think is the key to start improving the results? Is it because of the set-up or more about the pace of the car?
LH: I mean, our pace is where we were basically, third and fourth to this weekend. But I think our car has generally been very, it’s quite peaky. And that means that it’s often out of balance. It’s very rare that it’s in balance and it’s nice and smooth through a corner. And so set-up has been… I’ve obviously experimented a lot with the set-up over the last couple years but the car doesn’t really like any of the set-ups but one, and it’s slowly starting to get just become nicer to drive. And then ultimately, tyres. The tyres have been a huge issue for me. I think we got it half decent this weekend. If i can make some improvements over the course of the next races I think there’s more performance there.
Source: FIA.com
